As Iran’s economic situation is in temporary downturn and the country continues propping up the Assad regime in Syria, Tehran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah is increasingly feeling the pinch, according to a report in the May 15 edition of The Daily Star Lebanon.
The sources also pointed to the huge financial impact of Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria…
These difficult times have forced Hezbollah’s military wing – also known as the “Jihad Council” – to ask non-functional cells and the party’s external security apparatus to find new sources of funding. The instruction to these cells – which are spread around Russia, Romania, Germany, France and some parts of America – to find new sources of money seems especially urgent now that European security services are closely monitoring individuals suspected of being connected to Hezbollah.
The report, which says Hezbollah is firing staff across the board, offers an insight into the organization’s funding sources and the West’s attempts to cut them off.
The U.S. and European countries have been keen on monitoring Hezbollah’s funding sources in Latin America, Africa and other Asian countries, with a special focus on religious organizations connected to the party. These organizations and the businessmen involved with them are said to be the main source of donations in these countries. Recently, for example, Germany banned a charitable foundation after it discovered its connections to one of Hezbollah’s organizations.
Most of the money sent to Hezbollah comes from the African continent and is under the supervision of one of the party’s top officials, the sources said.
Hezbollah is also under tighter Iranian scrutiny right now. Iran recently dispatched a high-ranking military officer to Lebanon to lead a cleanup of Hezbollah after feared leaks to the West and Israel and mistakes made in Lebanon and Syria, according to the April 1 edition of The Daily Star Lebanon.